Comedy Panel

As one door closes, in the form of yet another New Zealand International comedy festival this winter, a few small trapdoors seem to be opening up for our comedians. Over the past couple of years most of our established comedians haven't been able to attend any of the international comedy festivals that have been able to go ahead, But there's a prediction that New Zealand will see an influx of new pro's launching their careers here next year, due to a backlog of talent desperate to perform live shows. After a drop in turnover of more than 60% in the first 3 months of this year, Auckland's Classic comedy venue is bringing back its Thursday Pro Nights from later this month . Plus, the 2021 Raw Comedy Quest will finally have a Grand Final on June 4th at The Classic. We brought together Scott Blanks who runs the Comedy, Lauren Whitney from the Comedy Trust that runs the festival, and Wellington comedian and comedy producer Jerome Chandrahasan. First Lauren explains to Lynn why the 2022 New Zealand International comedy festival had to be cancelled